WARNING! This video contains graphic content of a culturally significant animal sacrifice. Viewer discretion is strongly advised. The Hmong are an indigenous group in East Asia. In Northern Vietnam, Hmong traditional funerals are deeply spiritual events. In Hmong culture, the soul of the deceased is believed to return to their birthplace prior to travel to the afterlife to meet their ancestors before reincarnation. The goal of the funeral ritual is to guide the soul of the deceased to the spirit

You'll actually hear me speak Hmong in this video. Because it's about Hmong funerals, specifically a poem, which can only be truly expressed in Hmong. Nonetheless, in addition to just showcasing it, I tried translating it. It was hard because not only do a lot of these words not exist in English, but also carry emotions with them that are hard to translate – I believe that's the most important part when translating something like a poem. But I did try my best. For the very-interested people, esp

Traditional Hmong Funeral - Nyaj Tshaav Ntuj (Sunshine Money) ******************************************************************************** As a Hmong-American who juggled two cultures and lacked Hmong language proficiency, I struggled tremendously when it came to fulfilling traditional roles at Hmong funerals. I used to dread attending funerals mainly because I wanted to avoid my responsibilities and embarrassment. But as I learned more about the culture and improved my Hmong language profic